The Australian stock market is on track for a seventh consecutive day of gains, despite the negative impact of several high profile companies trading ex-dividend.

The market had defied a mixed lead from overseas to continue to push higher on Monday morning, CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said.

“We’ve had a great run, we’re up a little over five per cent in just over a fortnight,” he said.

The biggest drag on the market had been several major companies trading ex-dividend, which means new buyers do not receive the company’s most recent dividend payment.

Those companies include Telstra, Woodside Petroleum, Wesfarmers and Suncorp.

“That’s certainly holding things back,” Mr Daghlian said.

“We could have seen much more significant gains if not for those four businesses.”

Telstra was down 14 cents at $5.11, Woodside had lost $1.03 to $38.14, Wesfarmers had fallen $1.08 to $42.72 and Suncorp was 35 cents weaker at $12.41.

The big resources companies were higher, with BHP Billiton up 53 cents at $39.70, Rio Tinto up 64 cents at $70.87 and Fortescue Metals 17 cents higher at $6.19.

Among the big four banks, ANZ was 18 cents higher at $32.00, Commonwealth Bank was 15 cents higher at $75.33, Westpac was 20 cents higher at $33.51 and NAB was down 14 cents at $34.40.

Shares in steel product manufacturer BlueScope were up 40 cents, or nearly seven per cent, to $6.27 after the company returned to profit after several years of losses.

Caltex Australia was up 34 cents at $20.83, despite recording a 28 per cent slide in its full year profit.

KEY FACTS

* At 1210 AEDT on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.7 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 5,448.4.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 9.7 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 5,459.1.

* The March share price index futures contract was 14 points higher at 5,428, with 10,321 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 837 million securities worth $2.1 billion.